Dr. Maria Karayotova
Overview
Dr. Maria Karayotova is a Senior Consultant at PMG Analytics, with over 9 years of research, policy evaluation, and government experience. Prior to joining PMG Analytics she worked as a Researcher in Transcrime (Milan, Italy), where she conducted qualitative and quantitative research on organised crime, illicit trade in tobacco products, migrant smuggling, online activities of terrorist groups. She was academic director and lecturer of two editions of the Summer School on Cybercrime organised by Transcrime in 2017 and 2018. Maria’s PhD in Criminology focused on the social learning processes taking place on darkweb platforms. Between 2013 and 2015 Maria was Analyst at the Security Program of the Center for the Study of Democracy, where she was involved in research on organised crime and border security. Prior to that Maria served as Senior Expert at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Executive Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture.
Education:
- PhD in Criminology – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
- LLM in European Law – Utrecht University
- BSc in International Relations – Sofia University
Languages:
- Bulgarian
- English
- Italian
Publications
- Karayotova, M., Marchesi, M., Calderoni, F. (forthcoming) Terrorism and radicalization in cyberspace: a systematic review. Perspectives on Terrorism
- Calderoni, F., Brener, A., Karayotova, M., Rotondi, M. and Zorč, M. (2016) The Eastern Balkan Hub for Illicit Tobacco. Milano: Transcrime – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. Online at http://www.transcrime.it/en/pubblicazioni/the-eastern-balkan-hub-for-illicit-tobacco/
- Calderoni, F., Brener, A., Karayotova, M., Rotondi, M. and Zorč, M. (2016) The Belarusian Hub for Illicit Tobacco. Milano: Transcrime – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. Online at at http://www.transcrime.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/The-Belarusian-Hub-for-Illicit-Tobacco.pdf
- CSD (2015) Radicalisation in Bulgaria: Threats and Tendencies. Sofia: CSD Online at at http://www.csd.bg/artShowbg.php?id=17561
- Anticorrp (2015) Integrated report on the link between political corruption and organised crime., Online at http://anticorrp.eu/publications/integrated-report/
Key project experience
| Role | Project name | Client / Donor | Year |
| Country expert | Evaluation of the implementation of the Consumer Credit Directive | DG Justice | 2019 |
| Country expert | Evaluation of the implementation of the DMFSD Directive | DG Justice | 2019 |
| Consultant | Assessing Corruption Risks and Designing Anti-Corruption Reforms in Executive Agency “Automobile Administration” (Republic of Bulgaria) | Ministry of Transport and Information Technology | 2019 |
| Consultant | Assessment of the implementation of Regulation 2017/458 (Systematic checks) | DG Home | 2019 |
| Consultant | Conducting criminological research and data collection on organised crime in Bulgaria | Centre for the Study of Democracy | 2019 |
| Senior Analyst | Evaluation of the Child Protection System in Bulgaria | UNICEF | 2019 |
| Senior Analyst | Bulgarian Organised Crime Threat Assessment | Center for the Study of Democracy | 2019 |
| Preparation of a project proposal | AI4LEA – Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence for Law Enforcement Agencies | Horizon 2020 call | 2018 |
| Coordinator | Summer school on cybercrime | UCSC | 2018 |
| Data collection, analysis and report preparation | Modelling the Processes leading to Organised crime and Terrorist Networks (PROTON) | Horizon 2020 | 2017 |
| Coordination | Summer school on cybercrime | UCSC | 2017 |
| Data collection, analysis and report preparation | The Eastern Balkan Hub for Illicit Tobacco | UCSC, Philip Morris International | 2016 |
| Data collection, analysis and report preparation | The Belarusian Hub for Illicit Tobacco | UCSC, Philip Morris International | 2016 |
| Data collection, analysis and report preparation | Countering Radicalisation in Southeast and Central Europe Through development of (Counter-) Radicalisation Monitoring Tool | European Commission (DG Home) | 2014 – 2015 |
| Coordination | Monitoring Anti-corruption in Europe: bridging policy evaluation and corruption measurement (MONAC) | European Commission (DG Home) | 2014-2015 |
| Coordination, data collection and analysis | Media as an instrument for state capture | Open Society Foundations, Think Tank Fund | 2014-2015 |
| Report preparation | Anti-Corruption Policies Revisited (Anticorrp) | 7th Framework Programme | 2014 |
| Data collection and analysis assistance | Ex-post evaluation of the Schengen part of the temporary Cash-flow and Schengen Facility 2007-2009 for Bulgaria and Romania | European Commission (DG Home) | 2013-2014 |
| Data collection and analysis assistance | Study on paving the way for future policy initiatives in the field against organised crime – effectiveness of specific criminal law measures | European Commission (DG Home) | 2013-2014 |
| Data collection and analysis assistance | Assessing Integration Measures for Vulnerable migrant groups (ASSESS) | European Commission (DG Home) | 2013-2015 |
| Data collection and analysis assistance | Countering new forms of Roma children trafficking: Participatory approach | European Commission (DG Home) | 2013-2015 |
| Data collection and analysis assistance | Financing of Organized Crime Activities | European Commission (DG Home) | 2013-2015 |
| Data collection, analysis and report preparation | Preparation of the 2013 Bulgarian Annual Report on Migration Policy for the European Migration Network | Ministry of Interior, Bulgaria | 2014 |